Weight Room Circuit

I’m not going to lie… yesterday I was feeling a bit *cough* under the weather. Or as one of my athletes would call it, “Saturday Morning Sad” (only it was Sunday).

Catch my drift? Saturday night I went out to celebrate a friends birthday which was super fun, but I think there was something about the mixture of sushi for dinner and the drinks I had that just made me feel absolutely terrible when I woke up Sunday. Luckily, after getting some food in my belly, a few glasses of water and a power nap, I actually felt a lot better and had a decently productive day with Will. I knew that I needed some type of workout though, but nothing that was going to really kill me, because I knew I wasn’t quite up to a killer lift or sprints. So, my normal Sunday workout of hill sprints was out — I didn’t think my stomach would be too happy with that.

Instead, I made the trek into the gym with the intention of maybe just doing some KB swings, something to get my heart rate up and get a little sweat on. I really only went to the gym to do it because I knew that if I stayed home to use my KBs at home, I wouldn’t actually do it.

Motivation or self torture? Either way, it worked. Once I got to the gym I actually was motivated to do a little bit more than I originally intended. I put together a full-body weight room circuit — I made it a little heavier on upper body though, as today is a deadlift day and I didn’t want to mess with that too much by fatiguing my lower body yesterday.

I thought I’d share this with you guys since it was a pretty good circuit if I do say so myself. Just be aware that this is meant to be done in a weight room — it does require a good amount of equipment. If you’re looking for a circuit workout to do at home or outside without a ton of equipment, check out this one here. (Note to self: post more at-home and outdoor workouts..it took me a while to find that one!)

2 Arm KB Swings – These should be fairly heavy. Remember to hinge from the hips and use the power from your hip thrust to lift the weight — this is not a shoulder exercise! For more KB tips, please read here.

Barbell Overhead Press (OHP) – Standing with a barbell in a front loaded position, holding barbell with palms facing away from you, lift up overhead until arms are straight. Be careful not to arch your back, and keep your core engaged throughout the movement. These should be a moderate weight — one that you can complete 8 reps, but that the last 1-2 reps are difficult.

Barbell Jump Squat- These are pretty self explanatory. With the barbell in the back squat position, squat to just above parallel, jump, and land back in your squat. As I noted above, if you can’t squat at least 100lb for reps, I would not recommend doing these with a full 45 lb barbell. You may want to start with a weighted medicine ball or kettle bell instead. Safety first, kids!

Corner Barbell Press- Place a barbell with one end in a corner. Load the free end of the barbell with lighter weight (I added 20 lb to the barbell). Stand holding the barbell in your right hand, at your right shoulder, palm facing away from you. You should be in a split stance with left foot forward. Push the barbell up/forward for 8 reps, then switch sides.

Medicine Ball Slams with rotation- Stand in an athletic stance, holding a medicine ball with both hands. Keeping your core engaged, swing the medicine ball up to the right side, and back down, slamming the ball to the ground as your arms come back toward your midline. Repeat on left side. That is two. And because I did a horrible job explaining that, watch this video if you have no idea what I’m talking about.

Single Leg Bodyweight Hip Thrust- Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench. Place your feet on the ground in front of you, knees bent. Using your glutes, bring your hips up into a hip thrust or bridge position. Pick your left leg off the ground, and complete 8 hip thrusts with right leg. Make sure that you are not hyperextending your lower back at the top of the movement, and focus on engaging your glutes to complete the movement (not letting your hamstrings take over).

(**Side note that has nothing to do with anything: WordPress keeps autocorrecting “glutes” to “flutes” and it makes me giggle every time. Contract those flutes! Add in the fact that I played the flute for my entire childhood, and it makes it even better. Ok, side note over. Now go engage those flutes.)

I actually rounded this workout out with a half mile jog to and from the gym, which was a great way to warm up and cool down. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Readers: Do you have any go-to workouts when you’re a bit hung over or do you skip it all together? What’s your favorite piece of gym equipment to include in a circuit?

4 thoughts on “Weight Room Circuit”

Back in my college days, about all I could tolerate after a night of drinking was walking on the treadmill at a slow, steady pace with a huge bottle of water to constantly sip. I hate that feeling so much now that I make sure to drink more responsibly now 😀
I haven’t done circuits in a while, but if I think my two favorite pieces of equipment are sliding discs and aerobic step. Discs are great for mixing up lower body exercises. You can do some serious workouts without adding any weight by using these and the step is always great for cardio segments.

Ugh, I know what you mean! I hardly drink anymore, but when I do it tends to hit me like a ton of bricks. And I really think there was something about the sushi/alcohol combination, because I felt SO awful, not like a normal morning after a few drinks.

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Welcome to I Train Therefore I Eat! I'm Stephanie Rondeau MS, ATC, CSCS, CHC, and I'm a certified health coach and personal trainer in Boston, MA. My goal is to motivate and inspire, and to help people lead healthier, happier lives, free of food guilt and deprivation.I offer personal training, bootcamp classes, and health coaching services both locally and for distance clients. I hope you enjoy what you find here, and please feel free to contact me for more information on services. Welcome, and I hope you stick around for a while!